Stunning woodwork camouflaged M38 paratrooper helmet grouping

Exceptional woodwork find camouflaged M38 paratrooper helmet from Musselkanaal, the Netherlands. This helmet and other items where worn by a Fallschirmjäger in the Netherlands. The items are all found together in a house in Musselkanaal. The story comes directly from the previous owner who owned the group for over 70 years is that a young Czech paratrooper in 1945 seeked refuge from the war with civilians after fierce battles. The civilians in Musselkanaal took him in and dressed him in a blue coverall with wooden shoes to hide him from the Germans and the NSB neighbour. They burnt his uniform but kept the helmet, mapcase, pocket book, holster and fighting knife. Because of the language barrier they called him “Loekie”. Loekie lived with the family for over a year in hiding and left just after the war. Loekie was most probably member of the 6th or 8th Fallschirmdivision. The helmet and group are exactly how they where found on the attic when the house was passed down from father to son.

The helmet is marked CKL68 indicating production by Eisenhüttenwerke, Thale. The helmet retains its original liner and personalized chinstrap. The helmet is in good worn and untouched(!) condition with a nice and vibrant handpainted camouflage pattern. All 4 bolts are original to the helmet and are covered in paint. The aluminum bolts are The helmet retains its original named size 57 liner and its personalized chinstrap. The chinstrap was modified during the war. One of the rear bolts is a wartime replacement.

The mapcase is a standard Luftwaffe pattern brown mapcase with aluminum buckles. The boot knife or Luftwaffe Stiefelmesser is nicely marked “S”. The (empty) holster is a privately purchased holster for a small calibre pocket pistol. The pocketbook comes with a few notes that I’m unable to decypher but comes with a number of feldpost numbers. The group comes with a small correspondence with the finder of the group, who can also vet the story.

The helmet and grouping is a spectacular example of a named group with provenance. It is especially rare to find a original camouflaged M38 helmet in good used condition, let alone as a group. This group would be impossible to upgrade – if you want a camouflaged helmet that was worn during the battles in the Netherlands this is it!